“We all saw the horrific images from Bukha and other areas from which the Russian troops recently left. “These atrocities cannot and will not go unanswered,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s chief executive. “The four sanctions packages hit hard and limited the Kremlin’s political and economic choices. “In the face of events we need to further increase our pressure,” he said in a Twitter post. Russia is waging a brutal, ruthless war, also against the civilian population of Ukraine. We must maintain maximum pressure at this critical point. So today we propose a 5th package of sanctions. pic.twitter.com/GEuPQf0Wgr – Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 5, 2022 He said the proposal included an EU ban on coal imports from Russia worth 4 billion euros (3 3.3 billion) a year and a complete ban on transactions with four major Russian banks, including the country’s second-largest, VTB. “We are working on additional sanctions, including oil imports, and we are thinking about some of the ideas presented by the Member States, such as taxes or specific payment channels, such as a guarantee account,” said Von der Leyen. The EU will also ban Russian ships and ships operating in Russia from accessing EU ports, although there will be exceptions for agriculture and food, humanitarian aid and energy. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk The EU will also ban Russian and Belarussian road transport companies and ban the sale to Russia of quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transport equipment worth € 10 billion a year. Von der Leyen said the 27-nation bloc would also halt imports of Russian wood and cement, as well as seafood and beverages worth a total of about 5.5 billion euros a year. It will exclude Russian companies from public procurement tenders in EU countries and add other people to a list of people whose assets in the bloc will be frozen and who will not be allowed to enter.
